Purpose Parental feeding practice (PFP) plays an important role in child’s eating behavior and weight status, but less information is available about its role in the Thai family setting. The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of PFP on child’s gender and body mass index (BMI). Design/methodology/approach Participants included 227 parents-child dyads from the suburban area of Nakhon Pathom province, Thailand. Children aged 9-12 years and parents who were either child’s mother, father or grandfather/grandmother were enrolled in the study. Body weight, height, waist circumference and body fat were measured in all children. Eating behavior of each child was assessed by using child’s eating questionnaire. Parents also provided their feeding practices in child feeding questionnaires. Information on household food security was also obtained from children’s parents. Findings There was significant difference in eating behaviors and home environment between child’s genders. For child’s eating behavior, mean total eating scores of girls were significantly greater (p=0.002) than that of boys and that the inappropriate home environment was more found in families of boys than girls. Regarding feeding practice, parents used more food restriction (p=0.008) and monitoring on child’s eating (p=0.042) in girls than boys. Parents put more pressure to eat on the normal weight than obese children (p=0.001). Regression analysis revealed that, apart from parental BMI and household income, PFPs have a significant impact (15.6 percent explained variance) on child’s BMI. Originality/value This study highlights the importance of being aware of child’s gender and weight status when feeding practices were provided to them. Nutrition education for parents should take account for parents’ perceptions and concerns as well as the modification of feeding practices to improve children’s eating behaviors.

Background: Central obesity is associated with adverse health outcomes. This study aimed to determine the characteristics of central body fat distribution in Thai preschool children and to examine factors that could influence on body fat distribution of children. Methods: The total 811, 5 - 6 years old children were randomly sampled from 9 primary schools in Saraburi province. Body weight and height were measured in each child. Waist circumference (WC) was measured at the umbilicus level and hip circum-ference (HC) at the level yielding maximum circumference over buttock. Subcutaneous skinfold was measured on biceps, triceps, subscapular, suprailiac and abdominal regions. Total body fat (TBF) was measured with bioelectrical impedance analyzer. Results: Mean values of WC, waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) of boys were not different from those of girls. Even though trunk skinfolds of both genders were similar, girls tended to have slightly greater biceps, triceps and subscapular skinfolds than boys. Strongly positive correlation was found between WC, WHtR, trunk skinfold and child’s BMI (p = 0.01) as well as between WC, WHtR, trunk skinfold and child’s TBF (p = 0.01). Multiple regression analysis demonstrated, in both genders, that BMI, age and TBF were strongly associated with WC (Adjusted R2 0.92 - 0.93) and WHtR (Adjusted R2 0.90 - 0.92) and that BMI and TBF were strongly associated with trunk skinfold (Adjusted R2 0.88 - 0.89). The association between WHR and TBF for boys and between WHR and BMI for girls were found to be weak in this study. Conclusion: No gender difference in body fat distribution indices was found in Thai preschool children. Change in central body fat distribution of children could be strongly influenced by their changes in age, BMI and TBF

Lack of appetite is a common problem in elderly people which could lead to the risk of malnutrition. Soup-based product formulation and supplementation for the elderly is an interesting and convenient way to maintain nutritional status. Hence, this study aims to develop ready-to-eat (RTE) soup and instant soup powder using common agricultural commodities. The results indicated that among all formulations, the F7 formula comprised brown rice (15 g), pumpkin (32.5 g), sweetcorn (12.5 g), red tilapia (17.5 g), rice bran oil (1.0 g), and water (21.5 g) with energy ratio (C:P:F) of 58:23:20 receiving the highest sensory scores. The selected formulation (F7) was also transformed into instant powder and both RTE soup and instant powder were evaluated for nutritional composition and storage stabilities at 5 °C and 25 °C, respectively. The nutritional composition analyses indicate that 100 g of RTE soup consists of 13.8 g carbohydrates, 4.9 g proteins, 1.8 g fats, and 1.5 g dietary fibers; the soup is also a rich source of antioxidants and β-carotene. Storage studies suggested that the content of β-carotene and antioxidant activity of both (ready-to-eat and instant powder) types of soup decreased with increasing storage time, while a slight increase in yeast and mold count (<50 cfu/g) was noted. Most importantly, no pathogenic bacteria were detected in ready-to-eat and instant soup during the storage study of 6 weeks at 5 °C and 6 months at 25 °C, respectively. In terms of the high nutritional composition and functional value of the product, 4 weeks of storage at 5 °C and 4 months of storage at room temperature were suggested for ready-to-eat and instant powder soup product, respectively.